Susan Akbari says her essay “Becoming Human” on pg.274  that “it is helpful to keep in mind these two pre-modern modes of categorizing the human – one theological, one philosophical; one based on how man differs from what is above him (God), one based on how man differs from what is below him (the animal)” when interpreting medieval literature. Choose one critical text and one imaginative text from the second half of the semester that utilizes a comparison with either the divine or the animal to position the medieval definition of humanity into context and explain why the author chose this particular medium as a point of comparison.

I think this question would be most useful in the first half of the exam, in section II, that deals with short essay questions focused on the material we learned post midterm.